Palmerton man waives hearing in television thefts

A Palmerton man accused of stealing $22,800 worth of merchandise from his employer will face charges at a later date.

Daniel Devitt, 46, of Fireline Road, waived his right to a preliminary hearing recently. His formal arraignment is scheduled for 1 p.m. Oct. 2.

Devitt was charged in June with theft and receiving stolen property from his employer at UPS Freight in Bethlehem.

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Detective Gary Hammer of the Colonial Regional Police Department:

Hammer received a report from Doug Hughes, security for United Parcel Service, who reported that he conducted an investigation into a theft at the UPS Freight facility located at 342 Stoke Park Road, according to the affidavit.

Hughes said that he was alerted by the staff at the facility that an unknown person had taken three skids full of televisions, the affidavit says. The televisions were actually wrapped broken televisions that had a total value of $40.

Hughes reported that a review of the facility's video surveillance shows Devitt, a truck driver, on Jan. 10, loaded the three skids of televisions onto his truck.

Hughes said he reviewed the GPS tracking for Devitt's truck, which shows that after loading his truck, he drove to a closed business in Upper Macungie Township, and that the business that Devitt stopped at was not one of his stops.

On Jan. 16, Hughes interviewed Devitt at the UPS freight facility, at which time he admitted that he had stolen the three skids of televisions. Devitt also admitted that he stole other items in the past from his employer.

Devitt had his employment terminated on Jan. 16.

On Jan. 17, Hughes learned from UPS Freight that the facility was missing three additional skids of freight that were to be shipped to Georgia and contained $22,803 worth of merchandise. The skids were merchandise for a store opening in Georgia.

Hughes said that a further review of the surveillance video from UPS Freight showed Devitt loading the merchandise on his trailer. The stolen skids were not scheduled to be transported by Devitt, Hughes said.